Late last week the Michael Gordon wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal (you gotta pay to read it) entitled “Marines Plan to Retool to Meet China Treat” —- on Monday, US Naval Institute News led with the headline “New Marine Corps Cuts Will Slash All Tanks, Many Heavy Weapons As Focus Shifts to Lighter, Littoral Forces” —  Tim Lynch and Jeff Kenney join ALL MARINE RADIO to frame a discussion that will go on for years in Marine Corps circles — WHAT WILL THIS DO TO THE MARINE CORPS?

  • Will these measures propel the the Marine Corps to be the “force of choice” in the South China Sea but marginalized in most other theaters due to it’s light nature?
  • Will these measures usher in a new “Golden Age” of the Marine Corps well suited for the challenges of “peer-to-peer” and “near-peer to peer” warfare?
  • Will these measure render the Marine Corps to the “hand maiden of the Navy” akin to World War II “coastal artillery batteries” and eliminate the Corps ability to “close with and destroy”?

We’ll talk about it.